White Witch

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Narnia character
The White Witch, art by Leo and Diane Dillon
Jadis, the White Witch
Race/Nation	Half-Jinn, Half-Giantess / Charn
Gender	Female
Title	Her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands, previously Empress of Charn
Birthplace	presumably Charn
Family	Lilith (direct ancestress), unnamed sister
Major character in
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Magician's Nephew
Portrayals in Adaptations
1988 BBC miniseries: Barbara Kellerman 2005 Disney film: Tilda Swinton

Jadis, the White Witch is the key villain of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published book in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series, and the second chronologically. She was the tyrant who had usurped power over the land of Narnia. The White Witch magically forced Narnia into a never-ending winter during her reign, which at the beginning of the book had lasted for a hundred years. Even though it had been winter for so long, the Witch prevented a Christmas from existing during that time.

During her reign, the White Witch had been styled as Her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands. Her name appears to be derived from the Turkish jadis, meaning "witch", although it may also be related to the French word jadis, meaning "long ago".

In the 1988 miniseries The Chronicles of Narnia, the White Witch was played by Barbara Kellerman. In the 2005 Walt Disney Pictures feature film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, she was portrayed by English actress Tilda Swinton.

[edit] Characteristics

In her own dominion, Charn, the White Witch was exceptionally formidable but found her magic largely useless in other worlds. She eventually strengthened her powers and was able to usurp the throne of Narnia using her magic to cast the land in an eternal winter (it's possible that this winter killed the Tree of Protection the Witch had been planted to keep her out of Narnia). Her most feared tool is her wand, whose magic (not necessarily by touch, as in the film) is capable of turning people into stone. The petrified remains of her enemies are then brought to her castle where they would decorate its halls.

Tilda Swinton as Jadis, the White Witch, in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The White Witch is an extraordinarily beautiful and imposing woman, whose beauty enchanted both Digory Kirke and Edmund Pevensie on first encounters. She is also physically powerful and amazonian, being able to break iron with her bare hands and lift human beings off their feet. In the film she is shown to be amazingly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, wielding her wand and sword in perfect, deadly harmony. Unlike her magic, she retains her superhuman strength everywhere except in the Wood between the Worlds. Her skin is as white as paper (due to the fact that she ate the Fruit of Everlasting Life) and she is exceptionally tall (7 ft), as were her ancestors in Charn. A natural-born sorceress and cunning strategist, she is cruel and arrogant, seeing herself as above all rules of conduct regarding others, viewing them as tools to be used or obstacles to be demolished. Her callousness was most clearly demonstrated when she used the Deplorable Word within Charn to vanquish her sister, which also resulted in the eradication of all life in that world but her own. She preferred to destroy the entire world than submit to her sister's authority, and afterwards showed a remorseless pride in her actions.

The White Witch's Narnian minions were composed of a large variety of evil magic creatures, but predominant among them were the wolves on her side and some dwarves (including the one who drives her sled pulled by Reindeer). The White Witch's army consisted of fierce Giants, Werewolves, Tree Spirits that were on her side, Ghouls, Boggles, Ogres, Minotaurs, Cruels, Hags, Spectres, People of the Toadstools, Incubi, Wraiths, Vicious Plants, Horrors, Orknies, Efreets, Evil Sprites, Wooses, Ettins, Giant Bats, Vultures, and Evil Apes.

There were other creatures in her army in different movie versions.

• In one version Barbarians, Dark Samurai, Lichs, and Lizard Men were on her side.
• In the 2005 movie, White Tigers, Goblins, and Cyclops Ragers were in the White Witch's army. Creatures called Minoboars, Werebats, and Ankle-slicers were also on her side, but created for the movie.

[edit] Character history

The White Witch was born before the creation of Narnia, Narnian year 0, and died in Narnian year 1000 by Aslan's 'hand'.

She made two false claims which, if true, would have given her authority to rule over Narnia. The first was that she was human. At the beginning of Narnia, Aslan gave "sons of Adam and daughters of Eve" dominion over all the beasts and magical creatures of Narnia. (Narnian dwarfs are not considered to be human, even though they can and do reproduce with humans; they are referred to as "Sons of Earth".) Although the White Witch appears human (despite her irregular skin colour and abnormal height), Narnian rumour holds that she was actually a descendant from Adam's first wife, Lilith, and was half-Jinn and half-giantess, and thus not even partially human.

In The Silver Chair, a character comments that she was one of the "Northern Witches", along with the Lady of the Green Kirtle, but does not elaborate much; and in the immediately following book (as written), The Magician's Nephew, she is revealed to be a native of Charn, another world entirely. At the end of The Magician's Nephew, Jadis heads "north" from the western-most point in Narnia, thus making it the only connection to the "Northern Witches" legend. While the people of Charn appear human, there is no concrete proof of this. Aside from the issue of Lilith existing in our world, while the Witch apparently originates from Charn (explained, possibly, by the inter-world travel which we know could and did occur in many ways), her ancestry is not disclosed further. Jadis is a descendant of a long line of kings and queens of Charn, who started out good but grew worse and worse over the generations.

Her second claim was that she was a servant of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea and ruled by his and Aslan's blessing. This was a half-truth because she was the first to rebel in Narnia and by the workings of the Deep Magic was given ownership of all traitors and the right to kill them. For this reason, Mr. Beaver characterized her as the Emperor's hangman (though it should be noted that Aslan rebuked him for saying this). The Witch carried out her executions on the Stone Table whenever possible. Arguably she represented sin, which in Christianity holds the power of death over those who follow it.

Alternative promotional poster of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe featuring Tilda Swinton as the White Witch.

It was explained to the Pevensies that an ancient prophecy had been made concerning the overthrow of the White Witch, stating that when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve filled the four thrones at Cair Paravel as Kings and Queens of Narnia, the reign of the White Witch and the endless winter would end. The White Witch was aware of the prophecy, and employed spies to tell her of any human that came to Narnia. While it is known that there were other humans in the world of Narnia at the time of the first book — the descendants of the original King Frank and his Queen are human and populate Archenland, Calormen, and the island kingdoms — they are completely unknown in occupied Narnia, to the extent that they are regarded as possibly mythological. Doubtless during Jadis' rule over Narnia she managed to rid the country of any human race. In the 2005 film, Mr. Tumnus mentions that his father went away to war before the hundred years of winter. This war was quite probably against the White Witch's forces invading from the north.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch left a note nailed to Mr. Tumnus' floor which revealed that her name was "Jadis". But in The Magician's Nephew, it is explained that she was the Empress and last inhabitant of another world which contained a great and ancient city known as Charn inhabited by the Jinn. Jadis spoke "the Deplorable Word", which when spoken properly would destroy every living thing except the one who uttered it (previously used in order to defeat her sister from her desire to rule Charn). Jadis came to Narnia via the Wood between the Worlds, an endless forest filled with pools of water that act as portals to other worlds, including the worlds of Earth and Narnia. When in the Wood, Jadis appears to lose health, strength, and magical ability, although whether this is an ongoing draining effect or merely a temporary weakening is not known. Charn was destroyed so utterly that after Jadis left its pool in the Wood, the pool dried to nothing.

The White Witch (portrayed by Tilda Swinton) in battle wielding her sword and wand. Her collar is made from Aslan's mane, taken during his sacrifice.

The White Witch's worst deed, aside from uttering the Deplorable Word, was when she killed Aslan, instead of Edmund on the Stone Table by the means of Deep Magic. However Aslan came back to life by Deeper Magic than the Deep Magic, and while the Witch was fighting the battle against his forces, Aslan leaped on top of her, mauling her to death and ending her reign of terror.

In Prince Caspian, it is commented (by a Hag) that "You cannot kill a Witch," and the more unscrupulous of Caspian's army contemplate the question of bringing her back to defeat King Miraz for the old Narnians. Fortunately they are persuaded otherwise and the idea of her resurrection is never raised again in the series.

In The Silver Chair, the Lady of the Green Kirtle or Queen of Underland was the main villain. For a long period it was held in popular belief that the Lady of the Green Kirtle and Jadis were the same person. However, further into the book itself it is clear that they are not. Since Glimfeather (the Owl), in commenting on the Green Kirtle, refers to the White Witch who at one time ruled over Narnia, and that he believed this mysterious woman was "of the same crew," perhaps no more than a mere servant or follower of Jadis. For the White Witch no doubt had left her mark permanently on Narnia and had many followers long after her demise. In the BBC Television series of Narnia, actress Barbara Kellerman (who played Jadis, the White Which in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe also played the part of the Lady of the Green Kirtle (or Green Lady as she was called in the series) in The Silver Chair, further adding to the similarities between the two characters. It is unknown however where the Emerald Witch came from. She is said to be "of the same kind" as the White Witch, but Jadis was the only survivor of her homeworld. To be literally of the same kind as the White Witch, the Queen of Underland would have to be either her reincarnation or her descendant.

[edit] Portrayals

White Witch Chronicles of Narnia statue

In the 1988 BBC miniseries she was portrayed by Barbara Kellerman.

In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch was played by English actress Tilda Swinton who portrays her as a cold, calculating and sinister individual. Swinton's performance as Jadis won particular acclaim among fans and critics. Film critic for the BBC Stella Papamichael wrote:^[1]

It is yet to be determined whether or not she will be returning to play the character in the film adaptation of The Magician's Nephew as pre-production has not begun for that film.

[edit] The White Witch in popular culture

The character was almost certainly based on Rider Haggard's She: in a review of that novel C. S. Lewis simultaneously expresses his fascination with the story and his dislike of the character. Like "She", Jadis is compellingly beautiful, is initiated in occult knowledge, seeks immortal life through unlawful means and claims absolute superiority to the demands of morality.

The arch villain in the parody film Epic Movie is the White Bitch of Gnarnia, a spoof of Jadis.

[edit] References